Self-scoring target.



M. ST. 0. ELLIS.

SELF SCORING TARGET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1913 1,096,292, Patented May12,1914.

3 SHEETSr-SHEET 1.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPH C0.,WASHINGTDN, D. C

M. ST. 0. nuts. SELF SCORING TARGET.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1913. 1,09 ,292, Patented May12, 1914. a SHEETSSHEBT 2.

COLUMBIA PLANOGRAPN cO.,WAsHlNGTO$4. D. c.

TED srarns A SELF-SCORING TARGET.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Application filed May 16, 1913. Serial No. 768,087.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, MARK ST. CLAIR ELLIS, lieutenant commander U. S. Navy, a citizen of the United Stat-es, at present attached to the U. S. S. Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Self- Scoring; Targets; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to self scoring targets, and has for its object to produce a target which will be simple in construction, and more certain and efficient in action, than those heretofore proposed.

To these ends the invention consists in the novel details of construction and combinations of parts more fully hereinafter disclosed and particularly pointed out in the claims.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification in which like numerals designate like parts in all the views: Figure 1 is a diagrammatic partly sectional yiew of a target made in accordance with my invention; Fig. 2 is a front elevational view partly broken away, of the parts shown in Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional view of the central or hub supporting member carrying the bulls eye; and Fig. 1, is a similar view of one of the shuttle members. v

1 indicates any suitable base, 2 a back plate supported on said base, 3 a brace eX- tending from about the middle of the plate 2 to said base; 4: another brace extending from near the top of said plate to said base, and 5 any suitable housing shield or casing to protect the rear of the target.

Suitably attached centrally to the plate 2 is the hollow hub member 6, which receives and supports the central tube or pipe memher 7, threaded at each end as shown in Fig. 3, carrying at its rear end the cap member 8, and at its forward end the hollowed-out block member 9. The cap member 8 is provided with a bore through which passes the central or bulls eye shuttle member or rod 10, adapted to move backwardly under the impact of a bullet on the bulls eye 13, and close a circuit through the contacts 11 in a manner well known.

Mounted on the tube 7, are a plurality of distance rings or washers 15, and between these washers are the inner ends 16 of the radial supporting arms 17, carrying the target sections or sectors 18, 19 and 20, as illustrated. These sectors extend entirely around a circle and overlap each other in different planes as will be clear from Figs. 1 and 2.

Associated with each section or sector is what I term one or more shuttle members 21, each as best shown in Fig. 4:, consisting of a tube 22 passing through the back plate 2, and provided at its rear end with the contact fingers 23, through which may be made the circuits 25, leading to the cable 26 connected to an indicator or register located at any convenient point. The spring indicated at 27 serves to hold the rear end 29 of the rod 30, normally out of contact with the parts 23, and to hold the forward end 31 of said rod normally in contact with the target sector or section 18 as shown. This is an import-ant feature of my invention as will appear below. Each section or sector of the target is or may be provided with a plurality of these shuttle members 21, properly distributed over its surface, so that no matter where the bullet may strike, at least one of the rods 30 will be with certainty driven to the rear and the proper circuit closed, through a pair of contacts 23.

The bulls eye 13 I have shown as wholly supported by the central rod 10, although of course it could be supported by arms such as 17, from the central tube or hub 7 in a manner similar to the sectors 20, if desired. The said rod 10 is surrounded by the spring 11, which holds its rear end 10 normally out of contact with the contacts 11.

Prior to my present invention it was be lieved essential to make'the supporting arms such as 17 of, spring material, so the target sectors or sections might yield and move to the rear under the impact of the bullet, see, for example, my former United States Patents #804,? 12, November 14:, 1905, and $11,005,008, October 3, 1911. But while this yielding construction produced good re' sults, it was later discoveredthat a great deal of the energy of the impact was consumed in thus flexing the parts, making it necessary to have somewhat close relations between the rear ends of the shuttle rods and their contacts. It was soon found, however, with the close relations of the shuttle rods and contacts, the great relative bodily movement of the target sections when struck, and the consequent jarring of the back plate Patented May 12, 1914:.

and its associated parts, that often the wrong contacts would be closed and false indications made. A step in the right direction to correct this evil was made in the construction shown in my United States Patent #lfillfiof), which. caused the shuttle rod to normally contact with the target section, but the advantages of a rigid instead of a resilient or bodily movable target section normally in contact with said rod, was still not recognized, and therefore, as intimated in said patent, an adjustment of the distance between the circuit contacts and the rear end of said rod was necessary for different classes of fire arms.

By the present invention, all of the above disadvantages are removed as will now be made clear. In the first place the radial supporting arms 17 being in this invention made rigid instead of resilient as heretofore, when a bullet strikes a target section, a flexing strain without any appreciable body movement is brought on to the appropriate rigid arm 17 which transmits it to the cent or hub tube 7, which in turn transmits it to the rigid hollow hub member 6, and this latter transmits said strain to the rigid plate 2, which owing to its construction and that of its bracing members, effectually resists all movements. It results from this that the energy of the bullet is not absorbed in bodily moving resilient parts as heretofore. On the other hand the ends 31 of the shuttle rods 30 being in direct contact with the tar 'et sections, the impact acts as an uncushioned blow on said rods to send them to the rear with a far greater force than was possible under the old construction, and therefore the distance between the ends 29 of said rods and the contacts 23, may be made amply sufficient to accommodate the impacts of the more powerful bullets and yet there will be suflicient energy delivered to said rods from the less powerful bullets to still close the said proper contacts. Accordingly, all adjustments of the contacts to and from the ends of the shuttle rods for different fire arms, as in my said Patent #1.,0 .-1,259, are rendered unnecessary. Further, the entire structure being rigid and strong, as above stated, no vibrations sufficient to cause false contacts take place in the plate 2, and the indications are, therefore, always accurate.

The bulls eye members may, of course, be constructed like the other members if desired, but I prefer to permit the bulls eye 13 and rod 10 to both move bodily backward as illustrated, since I find the parts can be made sufficiently light to render this construction practicable, owing, among other things, to the much smaller size of the bulls eye as compared to some of the other target sections.

Since the target sections are in differentplanes, as illustrated, the spatter from bullets striking a rear sect-ion is liable to clog a shuttle rod associated with a forward section, and to prevent this I have provided the spatter tubes 50, which effectually protect said rods.

It is obvious that those skilled in the artmay vary the details of construction as well as the arrangement of the parts without departing from the spirit of my invention, and therefore I do not wish to be limited to the above disclosure except as may be re quired by the claims.

lVhat I claim is:-

1. In a self scoring target, the combination of a rigid back plate; means comprising rigid radial arms supported from said plate; target sections carried by said rigid arms; shuttle members normally in contact with said target sections adapted to be forced to the rear by the impact of bullets on said sections; and electric circuit-s adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as described.

2. In a self scoring target the combination of a member adapted to receive the impact of a bullet; a movable member normally in contact with said first member; electrical contacts associated with said movable member; rigid means for supporting said first mentioned member; and additional rigid means for supporting said first named rigid means, substantially as described.

3. In a self scoring target, the combination of a rigid back plate; means comprising a central tube and rigid radial arms supported from said plate; target sections carried by said rigid arms; slidable shuttle members normally in contact with said target sections adapted to be forced to the rear by the impact of bullets on said sections; and electric circuits adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as described.

4. In a self scoring target the combination of a member adapted to receive the impact of a bullet; a spring controlled movable member normally in contact with said first member; electrical contacts associated with said movable member; rigid radially extending means for supporting said first men tioned member; and additional rigid means comprising acentrally disposed tube for supporting said first named rigid means, substantially as described.

5. In a self scoring target the combination of a rigid back plate; a centrally disposed tube rigid with said plate; a plurality of radially extending rigid arms supported by said tube; target sections carried by said arms; slidable spring controlled shuttle members adapted to receive an uncushioned blow normally in contact with said sections;

and electric contacts adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as de scribed.

6. In a self scoring target the combination of a rigid back plate; a centrally disposed tube rigid with said plate; a spring c0ntrolled slidable member carrying a bulls eye mounted in said tube; a plurality of radially extending rigid arms supported by said tube; target sections carried by said arms; slidable spring controlled shuttle members adapted to receive an uncushioned blow normally in contact with said sections and supported from said plate; and electric contacts adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as described.

7. In a self scoring target the combination of a rigid back plate; a base on which said plate is mounted; braces extending from said base to said plate; a centrally disposed tube rigid with said plate; a hollow member rigidly holding said tube to said plate; a plurality of radially extending rigid arms supported by said tube; distance members carried by said tube for properly spacing said arms; target sections carried by said arms located in different vertical planes and overlapping each other at their edges; slidable spring controlled shuttle members adapted to receive an uncushioned blow normally in contact with said sections; and electric contacts adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as described.

8. In a self scoring target the combination of a member adapted to receive the impact of a bullet; a spring controlled movable member normally in contact with said first member; a spatter tube surrounding said spring controlled member; electrical contacts associated with said movable member; rigid radially extending means for supporting said first mentioned member; and additional rigid means comprising a centrally disposed tube for supporting said first named rigid means, substantially as described.

9. In a self scoring target the combination of a rigid back plate; a centrally disposed tube rigid with said plate; a spring controlled slidable member carrying a bulls eye mounted in said tube; a plurality of radially extending rigid arms supported by said tube; target sections carried by said arms; slidable spring controlled shuttle members adapted to receive an uncusliioned blow normally in contact with said sections and supported from said plate; spatter tubes surrounding said shuttle members; and electric contacts adapted to be closed by said shuttle members, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof I afiiX my signature in presence of two witnesses.

MARK ST. CLAIR ELLIS.

Witnesses FREDERICK BIRDSALL, MAURIGE ASHER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. C. 

